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Metal Gear: Sonata of Faith

by Azure Sandora

Chapter 3

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The song I chose for this first part is the "boss theme" of this story. I chose it because to me it's the perfect fusion of the magical feel of MLP and the high energy and suspense of Metal Gear Solid.

play this song!

Immediately two of the changelings charged at me. I spun kicked one back, and then in one swift motion I pulled out the small cross bow and fired at the second one. I hit him point blank in the head, and he died immediately.

The first one was getting up, but before I could get to him, two more rushed over to me and knocked me back. I turned to the armored unicorn, who was trembling still charging her spell.

"Why are you just standing there?!" I shouted to her, snapping her out of her daze.

"W-what?!" she asked.

"I can't beat these guys on my own, and more are probably coming! Fire the damn spell already!"

That caught her attention, because immediately she screamed and fired a spell so big I had to jump away and duck. Thank FAUST she didn't hit me with that, otherwise I'd be more than dead.

Whoever this pony was, she was stronger than anyone I had ever seen.

The changelings all fell down dead, but just as I figured, more were coming. Apparently, they had enough time to call in reinforcments. I jumped back to my "partner's" side and held the small cross bow at the ready.

"Can you fire a smaller version of that?" I asked her, getting a shakey nod as a response, "Okay, time your shots with mine, and aim for sensitive spots. Shoot to kill, got it?"

With the way she stepped back, I could tell she had never killed ANYPONY before. I started to feel bad for yelling at her before, but this was a frantic situation. If we didn't kill them first, they'd kill us.

Four more changelings ran down the path over to us, and I could see three flying ones coming in as well. I fired at the four on the ground, not wanting to try my luck at hitting flying enemies yet while my trepid partner fired at the ones in the air. The four I shot at died instantly, but she missed one of them, only knocking him out of the sky.

I was about to fire at him, but my cross bow had run out of ammunition. I swore and then charged over to him with a jumping spin kick. He gaurded it, sending me back, and then threw a few punches of his own. After ducking and dodging his blows, I punched him in the jaw, and then again in the stomach, knocking him out. While on the ground I snapped his neck, making sure I killed him.

When I did, my partner gasped in shock.

end song

"W-w-why did you do that?!" she asked me trembling, "He was already knocked out! You didn't have to-"

"If he woke up he'd call more changlings," I replied, "It'd be harder to get Rarity out of there otherwise. Speaking of which, how do you know her?"

"H-huh? Um..." she shook her head and stepped away from me, "I'll take care of Rarity. You've done enough."

"If you expect me to just get out of your way, then sorry. I was asked by the Princess to personally handle freeing Canterlot. After getting Rarity out of here, you should find someplace to hide."

"No!" she said adamantly shaking her head, "I have to save them! I don't care what I have to do, I'm not running away!"

This mare was either really courageous or really stupid, and I was betting it was a combination of both. She wasn't cut out for battle, and she would probably die if she didn't get to safety.

Before I could say anything else, she walked into the warehouse Rarity was being held in (I noticed that her walked was surprising dainty for someone so rash), and cast a weird spell, completely undoing the bindings, "I have a place set up where it's safe. Come on," she said to Rarity, who slowly nodded. The two of them got up and galloped out of the warehouse.

"Hey! Hold on!" I shouted as they ran, but it was too late. The armored pony, and one of the Elements of Harmony, was gone. I ducked behind a barrel next to the warehouse and called Princess Luna.

"Is everything alright over there?" she asked me.

I sighed, "Well, the good news is that the hostage is safe. The bad news is that she isn't with me anymore. Someone else ran in all gung-hoe and got her to safety."

"And you're sure it wasn't a changeling?"

"Pretty damn sure. She didn't show up as one on the radar," now that I thought about it, she might have shown up blue. Did that mean she was another Element of Harmony? Did I just let another one slip by me?

"Whoever it was then, be on the look out for her. They might get hurt otherwise."

I nodded in response, opting not to tell the Princess who I thought that was. She was a unicorn pony that showed up blue on my radar. I had reason to believe that I had just run into Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and dear friend of Princess Luna's. I didn't want her hopes to go up too high in case I was wrong.

"After taking a quick break I'll make my way to the hospital. Applejack is being held in there, so I'm going to need all my strength to get in there."

"Alright. Be careful, Octavia."

She hung up, and I decided to call Rainbow Dash. I had no idea what to expect in the hospital, so in case they needed to send somepony else after me I decided to have her record my progress.

"Hey Octi. What's up?" she asked me.

"I'm going to need you to save my record before I go in," I said, "Just in case I die."

"Here's to hoping you don't, but I get it. Alright, I have the file open. Tell me everything, and leave out nothing."

I recounted everything I had done up till that point, including the fight against the changelings. I even confided in her that I thought I had run into Twilight, but I made her promise not to tell anypony about that theory.

"So, if you've got a minute, why did the war start?" Rainbow Dash asked me.

"You mean the War of 1972?"

"Yeah? My dad said that it was the last big war in the world, but he never told me why it started."

"That's probably because he didn't know. A lot of soldiers are drafted into battle without being told the reason, and the best soldiers are the ones who don't ask. Soldiers like your father and I are expected to just follow orders, and kill whoever our commanding officers tell us to kill."

"You make it sound like soldiers are just machines..."

"That's what we're expected to be like. Do what we're told, and not ask questions. All I know about the war is that it was a large fourway battle between all the countries of the world. Some factions joined forces, such as Equestria teaming up with Serpentera. Tallos, the griffin kingdom, teamed up with Zebrica, all the creatures like minotaurs, sea serpents, and other ferocious creatures from the north teamed up to form one nation close to the fallen Crystal Empire, and finally the Changelings of the south."

"Sheesh, that many creatures fighting?!"

"Believe me when I say, it's a wonder that there's even a planet left to live on. I was trained in dragon style martial arts by a soldier named Fang."

"Hold up, is that how you learned how to stand on your hind legs like that?"

I laughed, "Yes, as a matter of fact it is. I still balance better on four feet like normal ponies do, but I can do a lot on two feet. It gives me a lot of freedom."

"Did you work with Equestria mainly?" she asked me.

"Actually no. Most of the time I stayed in dragon territory. They're actually really nice when you get to know them, and no they aren't all taller than Canterlot Castle. Some are actually close to a pony's height if said pony were standing up right. Fang was one of those types."

I actually got a little misty eyed thinking about Fang. I missed him so much, and the way he died would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Damn you, Braveheart...

"Octi? Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you more later, but I can't keep Applejack waiting," also, I needed to change the subject. Talking to someone about the war was good therapy, but it also stirred up a lot of my inner emotions and fears.

"Right. Thanks for sharing all that with me, and good luck in there. Hit em once for me, kay?"

"I will," I said with a laugh, "See you, Rainbow Dash."

We hung up at the same time. Feeling refreshed I galloped over to the hospital. It looked like they upped the security a bit since I came through here before. Well, by now they had to have known that someone had infiltrated Canterlot.

I took my time making my way to the hospital, trying to not get seen by the small flying drones, which I assumed were cameras or something like that. There were two of them right at the doorway into the hospital. Damn it, I thought to myself, How the hell am I going to get in there now?

Looking around I saw a changeling guarding what looked like a bunker for weapons. Maybe there was something in there I could use. I slowly ran over to the side of the bunker, and knocked on the wall to get his attention.

"Huh? What was that?" he asked, slowly trotting over to where I was. I quickly ran around the back of the bunker to get to the other side before he got there. From there I was able to get inside the bunker, where I saw two things that caught my attention. Thing one was a small wand with a trigger at the bottom. Thing number two was a set of small blue orbs with clips hanging off of them.

I sat down in the back corner of the bunker and called the Princess, hopefully she could tell me what these were.

"Princess, I found some strange weapons," I asked her, "One I think is a pack of grenades, but I don't know what sort they are, and the other one is a strange wand with a trigger of some sort."

"Hm... I'm afraid I can't help you too much with that. However, I anticipated something like this, so I asked my student to help you as well."

"You have a student too?" I asked, as she didn't seem like the type to take on a desciple.

"I took her on last year. She has a lot of potential, much like Twilight Sparkle, but her upbringing had her abilities blossom late. Turn your earring to frequency 141.52 to reach her. She knows a lot about magical based weaponry."

"Thanks Princess. I'll call her immediately," I said hanging up. I then turned to the frequency Luna gave me, and got a surprise when the pony on the other end picked up. I saw the image of an azure colored pony with a light blue mane, and she was wearing a purple witch's hat and cape.

"You have reached the Great and Power Trixie," the pony on the other end said arrogantly, "Please make your inquiry now or begone peasant."

I couldn't contain my laughter. Of all the ponies Luna could have chosen as a student, I didn't expect her. But then again, she did have a lot of magical potential.

"Glad to see you haven't changed, Beatrix," I said, using her birth name. She was born Beatrix Lulamoon, but she began calling herself Trixie when she started doing shows.

"Octavia Melody...?" she asked, followed by gleeful laughter, "It is you, isn't it? I can't believe it!"

"Neither can I. It's a small world isn't it? How are you, old friend?"

"Worried about Canterlot, and my teacher," she explained, "Thankfully I decided to pick the day of the wedding to visit family in Manehatten, but now I'm stuck out here, unable to do anything to help."

"Well, I'm not too sure about that," I said, "You apparently know about magical weapons, right?"

"Correct," she said looking up in a haughty manner, "Trixie not only knows about magical weapons, but she also knows a lot about the history of some species in Equestria, including changelings."

"That's perfect, considering what I'm up against here," I swear, when I said that, Beatrix's face became darker than I had ever seen in my life.

"So what my teacher said is true... the changelings did invade?" she looked at me in determination and earnest, "Those creatures are monsters, and what they're doing could lead to another war as big as the War of 1972. I won't stand for that. Sadly, all I can do for you is give you information on what I know."

"Hopefully that's going to be enough," I said, "One soldier here is already one too many. What can you tell me about these weapons I found?"

I described to Beatrix the two weapons I found.

"Well, the wand your looking at is a special type of Fire Wand. Magicians in the old days used wands and staffs to augment their magical abilities. These days they've gone into dissuse, as many unicorns such as moi have magical capabilites superior to many normal unicorns, who simply use their magic for house hold uses.

"Because of this, staffs and wands are now used by other ponies in the military who can't use magic. Pegasi and earth ponies are able to cast spells using them simply by pulling the trigger."

"But Pegasi and earth ponies can't use magic normally, right? Don't you have to be magically capable to cast spells?"

"Yes, you do," Beatrix explained further, "Which is why those wands are usually charmed with spells prebound to them. The wand you have right now has a fire spell weaved into it. All you have to do is pull the trigger to cast the spell."

"Interesting," I said pocketing the want, "This is going to come in handy. What about these grenades?"

"Ah, now that's simpler to explain. Those are Magynite Grenades," she explained, confusing me a bit.

"Magynite? What the hell is that?" I asked her, making her laugh a bit.

"It's a special mineral that disrupts magic. It's rare, but if used in something like a grenade for example, it can cause magi-tech machines to malfunction. If you use it, your radar will be knocked out for a short while, as it's a product of magi-tech as well."

"But it will come back on after a while? I'm guessing the machines will start working again too after a bit."

"Yes. You have to understand, Octavia, magic is alive. Like all living entities, it adapts, so after a few seconds the machines will be able to work again. They won't adapt to a point where they're immune to magynite, but you'll have to fire another grenade to get the effects again."

At least that was good news. I had quite a few of these now, and I had a feeling that there would be more lying around. This also gave me a way into the hospital, which was exactly what I needed.

"This works. I can get a lot of use out of these weapons."

"If you find anything else you don't understand, let me know. I'll do everything I can to be of service."

"Thanks. It's good to see you again, Beatrix," I said with a smile.

"Same here, Octavia."

She hung up, and I couldn't help but smile thinking about the times she and I had after the war. I had heard she lost a lot during the war, but she never told me what. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the changelings though.

With that done, I made my way out of the bunker. The guard was out front again, but being inside I could take him out easily. I grabbed him and brought him into the bunker with me, and choked him until he fell unconscious. No need to kill him, since he never saw my face and would have any idea of where I went.

When he was down, I got as close to the hospital as I could and held out one of the Magynite Grenades. Biting the clip off, I threw it toward the cameras. It gave a small silent explosion, and small green particles came out and clouded the area. The camera like creatures were looking around frantically, unable to see anything apparently.

I also noticed that my Soloton RADAR showed static instead of an overhead representation of my immediate area. Oh well, according to Beatrix it would clear up soon enough.

I ran into the hospital, thankful that inside my radar worked perfectly. I guessed the hospital was open enough for a scanning. Good.

I explored the hospital for probably a good few minutes to an hour, unable to find anything unusual, which was unusual. I figured though that if no one was in the lower floors, then they'd be in the upper floors.

I spotted what looked like an elevator. Thankfully it still worked. I decided to check the middle floors, starting with the tenth floor.

It took some time, but when it arrived, I saw changlings walk past the elevator. Thankfully they didn't see me, but I still waited until they passed by before I made my way out. There were a lot more changelings here, which made me think that Applejack might have been close.

I walked down the halls of what was starting to look like the emergency section. I looked through all of the rooms I went past, but I didn't see Applejack anywhere. I was starting to get worried. This place was huge. If I didn't find her soon, she might not survive, but where in this hospital was she?

I saw the operating room ahead, but there was another security camera like creature watching the pathway. Something told me that whatever was behind that door wasn't something they wanted revealed.

Possibly a hostage. Possibly Applejack.

I threw a Magynite Grenade over to the door, and it exploded confusing the drone. I then ran over to the door, but slowly opened it, just in case I was ambushed.

When I looked inside, all I saw was an earth pony with an orange coat and a light blond mane and tail strapped to the operating table, her Cutie Mark being three apples. At first I thought she was dead, but getting a closer look I saw her breathing slowly.

I went inside once I was sure she was the only one there and slowly closed the door. Once I did, my radar came back on. I was expecting a green dot, but instead I saw a blue one.

I found her.

When I galloped over to her, I was heartbroken. She didn't look thin or anything, but she looked so tired and weak. Also, she was moaning as if in pain, and she had long given up on pulling at her bindings. Her mane was flowing freely, as was her tail, giving her a truly helpless look like from one of those story books about a captured princess.

"Hey, are you awake?" I asked in a whisper. She slowly opened her hazel eyes and looked up at me weakly, "You're Applejack, Element of Honesty, right?"

She slowly nodded, moaning in confirmation.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here. Just give me a second to untie you," I said getting to work. As I tried to work her bindings (which were tied really tightly to keep her still apparently) I noticed her tense up.

"Be...hind... you..." she moaned. I looked up at her, and saw her wide eyed a bit. Immediately I turned around just in time to see what looked like a needle fly toward me. I jumped away just in time.

"So you're the one messing with our drones?" a sweet yet sinister voice said stepping out from another side door, "I thought it was the Element of Magic who was fighting us. I didn't expect the famous Octavia Melody though."

The pony that stepped out wasn't a changeling. In fact, it was just that, a pony! She had a pure white coat, a pink mane tied in a bun, and a long pink tail. Her Cutie Mark was a red cross surrounded by four hearts.

I knew of this pony. This was Nurse Redheart, famous nurse turned surgeon. At first I thought she was under changeling control, but then I saw her eyes weren't green tinted. A changeling.

"How cute," I taunted, "But I already know your tricks. You're a changeling mimicking the real Nurse Redheart," I said, making the changeling laugh.

"Oh silly pony, I am the real Nurse Redheart," she said with a sinister smile, "But you aren't wrong about the changeling part. However, it's so much more complicated than you realize."

"More complicated..." I asked, afraid of what she might have meant by that.

She trotted over to Applejack and began caressing her cheek, "She was so strong before. Thanks to the first strain of my plague though, she's been reduced to this helpless damsel," she said chuckling.

"Your plague? What did you do to her?" I asked harshly.

"I simply used her as a test for my virus," Nurse Redheart said trotting away from Applejack and spinning around, "Imagine, a virus so powerful that it makes even the strongest ponies powerless against our queen. If this were a success, then no pony could ever stand up to us, not even an alicorn."

That got my attention, and I took out my small crossbow and pointed at her, "You better not have-"

"Oh trust me, I wanted to," Nurse Redheart said, "Sadly, Her Majesty is keeping the pony I wanted to test this on as a personal prisoner, so I settled for the strongest of the Elements of Harmony," she kicked the table Applejack was tied to, making the poor mare moan and sob in sadness/pain.

"You should have seen her a few hours ago," Nurse Redheart continued, "She was so strong willed. Even strapped to the table, the main drones were afraid to approach her. Once I infected her with the first strain, she lost all power. Why, even a child could overpower her now."

Applejack looked at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen. I could see it in her eyes, she was begging, pleading me to save her. She was scared, and although she was strong willed, she didn't want to die.

"I had just finished the second strain when you came in," Nurse Redheart continued walking over to her work desk, "After years of researching and testing, my weapon is completed. I was going to test it on the Element here, but that might kill her. Instead," she pointed her scalple at me and smiled evilly, "I'll knock you out, strap you to a table, and then test it out on you!"

"That's if you live past this!" I said standing on my hind legs and getting in a fighting stance. I was still confused though. This was Nurse Redheart, no doubt about it. But she was a changeling? I had a lot of questions on my mind, but before I could answer those questions...

I had to survive this fight first.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4 Estimated time remaining: 59 Minutes
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